


Talk to Me

by ObscureReference



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Communication, Language Barrier, M/M, Magical Accidents, Multi, Teenagers, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-05 16:02:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16813876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObscureReference/pseuds/ObscureReference
Summary: “Now, now,” Niles said patiently. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll come with practice. What was this spell supposed to do?”Ophelia’s disappointment was palpable. “It was—"Odin said something completely unintelligible.The entire room turned to stare. Ophelia’s mouth clicked shut, her eyes wide.





	Talk to Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kimium](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kimium/gifts).



> I said I would one day write a fic focusing more on the child units, and I finally did! I love Forrest, Nina, and Ophelia a lot! And I've always wanted to see more of them bonding with their parents and not parents! But I don't write a ton of them because I'm so unused to it. But I want to! And now here they are! I hope I did them justice.
> 
> Sidenote: This take place in a mostly canon AU where the kids didn't get thrown into the Baby Realm, so they weren't basically abandoned at birth, lmao. There are some slight adjustments for that, but everything else is more or less the same.
> 
> Also choosing words to call your parents when you have 3 dads and don't want to get them confused is hard. All the dad's in canon are "Father," more or less. So other names feel less formal by comparison. But all 3 can't be "Father," and so here we are."
> 
> This fic is for Kimium because she is so very, very patient and supportive of me always, even though I am very, very slow.

“Yes!” Ophelia cheered. “Stay right there!”

“Alright,” Niles said genially while mentally preparing himself for something to go horribly wrong.

It was no knock against Ophelia. But between her penchant for dramatics and the fact even adult mages made rather explosive mistakes now and then, Niles was more than prepped to encounter whatever damange control his fourteen year old daughter needed.

Also, having literally every member of his immediate family stuffed into one room put Niles on edge.

Oh, yes, he loved them all dearly and felt completely at ease with them all. But to have all three of his children corral himself, Odin, and Leo into a room with the promise of “something special” in store? It was enough to put any parent of teenagers on edge. Especially with Nina looking ready to vibrate out of her skin. She kept glancing between Ophelia and her fathers when she thought no one was looking. Niles watched her warily.

Likewise, Forrest—by far the oldest and most trustworthy of Niles’s three children, though still merely sixteen himself—appeared both nervous and intrigued himself. Even Ophelia looked more excited than usual.

Usually Forrest was the most reasonable of the lot. If he had been dragged into whatever scheme Nina and Ophelia had devised, Niles hoped he had at least kept his sisters in line.

Suffice to say, he was a little worried about what the next few moments would bring.

Leo, for his part, looked torn between curiosity and caution. In contrast, Odin looked entirely too eager for whatever spell Ophelia was clearly about to conjure—assuming it was real magic and did anything besides sound appropriately dramatic. Niles loved her dearly, but Ophelia _had_ been prone to making up her own spells a time or two. He could only wait and see what happened next.

“Stay still!” Ophelia said again, as though they hadn’t heard her the first time.

Leo and Niles shared a quick glance. Leo bit at the corner of his mouth to keep his grin down. Her excitement was contagious.

“Ready!” Odin said. Ophelia flashed him a grin too.

Niles relaxed, if only marginally.

With Forrest and Nina on either side of her, Ophelia raised her hands to the ceiling with very Odin-like flare. The tome on the table in front of Ophelia lay open, but she didn’t look at its pages before chanting.

“Oh, great sword of light and truth! Pierce the veil within us with your glorious glow! Unravel the dark, tangled webs around our souls _,_ and enable us to speak from the heart!”

Niles felt absolutely nothing until Ophelia finally glanced down at the tome in front of her and said the actual spell. Then he felt a shift in the air, a blanket of something magical coming to rest on his shoulders. It was a different feeling, but not entirely unwelcome. Niles sniffed, and the feeling lifted.

_“Kapow_!” Ophelia finished. Her hands dropped, and she looked at her fathers eagerly. “Well?”

Odin whooped.

“Er, very good, Ophelia,” Leo said. He looked around for any sign of change, but like Niles, he saw nothing. “I’m sure you’ll manage it next time.”

Forrest and Nina’s shoulders slumped with disappointment. They shared an unreadable look and then hastily glanced away when they caught Niles watching them. He raised his eyebrow curiously.

“What? No!” Ophelia sounded disappointed. “It didn’t work? Say something else!”

“Now, now,” Niles said patiently. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll come with practice. What was this spell supposed to do?”

Ophelia’s disappointment was palpable. “It was—"

Odin said something completely unintelligible.

The entire room turned to stare. Ophelia’s mouth clicked shut, her eyes wide.

“Did it work?” Nina asked, eyebrows knitted together. Forrest wore a thoughtful expression.

Niles stared at his husband. He felt Leo shift behind him, presumably doing the same. Odin’s mouth had fallen into an unmistakable “o” of surprise.

“Say something else!” Ophelia commanded with a dramatic point. Niles was barely paying attention to her now.

Odin did say something else. Something Niles could make zero sense out of. It sounded like a language, certainly, but not one Niles was at all familiar with. Nothing like Nohrian or any of the dialects from Hoshido he’d ever come across. He wracked his brain and found it didn’t sound anything like the Ice Tribe, nor any other tribe he could think of either. It was a language Niles was completely unfamiliar with.

As if confirming Niles’s thoughts, Forrest mused, “That doesn’t _sound_ like gibberish…”

“Quite,” Leo agreed, tone clipped. Confused, Odin said something else but was ignored. “Ophelia.”

Ophelia shrank back. Leo hadn’t raised his voice at all, but Ophelia looked like she was already preparing for a scolding. By her side, Nina had fallen suspiciously quiet as well. Forrest had already begun to look abashed.

At the very least, Niles thought, they hadn’t planned it to go quite like this. Whatever “it” had been.

“Would anyone like to explain what has just happened here?” Leo asked.

Nina broke her silence to suddenly elbow Ophelia and hiss something too low to hear. Ophelia replied in a loud stage whisper, _“That’s not what should have happened at all!”_

“Oh?” Niles said. “And what _was_ suppose to happen?”

Odin said something else, tone growing slightly strangled. Forrest winced.

“One moment,” Forrest said. He grabbed the tome on the table with a delicately gloved hand and hastily began looking it over. “I’m sure I can…”

He trailed off as his eyes began scanning the page. Ophelia practically threw herself over her brother’s shoulder in an effort to reread the spell along with him.

Leo sighed loudly and, after sharing a quick look with both Odin and Niles, made his way over to help them.

Three magic users were more than enough for one book. Niles couldn’t use any magic anyway. He turned to Odin and noted how his husband looked quite miserable.

“How do you feel?” Niles asked, knowing Odin likely could not reply very clearly. Odin opened his mouth to speak, and Niles quickly cut him off with, “Nod if you feel alright, and shake your head if you feel ill.”

Odin shut his mouth unhappily but nodded. A bit of tension left Niles’s spine.

“Good.”

He glanced over at the others and saw Leo, Forrest, and Ophelia were still mulling over the passage. Arms crossed, Nina hovered close by, clearly listening in on their muttering. Niles shook his head and focused on Odin once more.

“Are you able to understand yourself?” he asked. “You’re not just speaking gibberish, are you?”

Odin began to nod, then changed it to a shake instead. His lips were pressed into a flat line.

Niles said, “Let me rephrase. Are you familiar with the language you’re speaking right now?”

This time Odin nodded confidently. The nod was accompanied by a word he couldn’t understand, so he ignored it.

Whatever language Odin was speaking, it didn’t resemble Nohrian. The language of Nohr was rather quick and terse. Or so Niles had heard it described before by those who did not speak the language. The language Odin was speaking was much slower than that. The words sounded longer, and his tone rose and fell in strange places. It was not quite musical, but it was not an unpleasant sound either. Perhaps Niles might have enjoyed it more if he could actually communicate with Odin without the charades.

“What language _is_ that?” Nina asked from across the room. She sounded rather unhappy not to know. Niles knew the feeling.

“I wish I could tell you,” Niles said, grimacing.

Nina stared incredulously. She looked agitated about something. “You don’t even know? He’s your husband!”

“And he’s also your father,” Leo reminded her, straightening up. “And Ophelia has done…” His eyebrows furrowed. “Something.”

“If I may,” Forrest cut in. He pointed at something on the page. “This line—”

It was Forrest’s turn to say something unintelligible, but this time Niles recognized it as the strange language that tended to go hand in hand with magic.

“What about it?” Leo asked, clearly having understood.

“Well…” Forrest shared a quick look with Ophelia before continuing. “This tome is rather old. Roughly translated, I believe this line means ‘to speak from the heart.’ I believe it was interpreted… one way, but thinking about it now, perhaps it means something else.”

“Such as?”

Leo was clearly losing his patience. Odin fidgeted anxiously as well.

Forrest chewed at his lower lip. “Perhaps in this case speaking from the heart means speaking in your first language.” When nobody else interrupted, he quickly continued, “Dad clearly knows what he’s saying even if we don’t, so clearly it’s a language of some sort. One that he's familiar with. And since it’s not Nohrian…”

Odin chimed in, nodding his head several times. So it seemed Forrest was right. Odin was speaking in his first language.

Leo sighed. “Yes, that would make sense. Good work, Forrest. Though, again, this doesn’t answer the question of what you three were trying to accomplish in the first place.”

Given how Ophelia shrank back just as she had every time that question had been asked so far, Niles thought they were on the right track to uncovering something unpleasant.

Before Leo or Niles could zero in on her, however, Nina blurted, “It’s because you don’t even know what he’s saying!”

Leo made a face. “I—What?”

“I believe you’ve got it backwards,” Niles said, but Nina was shaking her head, her braids waving back and forth with the movement.

“No, _you_ don’t get it,” she said. “He’s your husband and our _father_ , and he’s speaking a language we don’t even know. One that's he's apparently spoken his whole life! Don’t you think that’s strange?”

Forrest wrung a handkerchief in his hands, looking uncharacteristically guilty. Niles hadn’t noticed him pull it out.

“What I find strange is your avoidance of the question at hand,” Niles said.

Nina closed her mouth.

She surreptitiously glanced towards the door, but with all three fathers between her and the exit as well as the two siblings that would remain should she make a break for it, she visibly weighed her options and decided to hold her ground.

Crossing his arms even tighter, Niles gave Nina a stern look. “This will be less painful for all of us if you come clean now.”

He was looking at Nina, but any of the children would do. Unsurprisingly, it was Forrest who owned up first, lifting his chin to answer.

“We heard you, Father, and Dad arguing the other day about Dad’s home.”

Forrest said “we,” but the way he glanced at Nina hinted that it probably hadn’t been a “we” situation at all. He made a mental note to teach Forrest to lie better later. For now, it worked in Niles’s favor.

He continued to look at Nina. “So you were spying.”

“Why do you assume it was just me?” Nina flushed, crossing her arms and unconsciously mirroring Niles.

“Am I wrong?” Niles asked.

“That’s beside the point.” Which mean it had absolutely been only Nina. “It’s not like I was listening in on purpose or anything. You three shouldn’t be talking about stuff you don’t want to tell us in public. And you shouldn’t be keeping arguments from us in the first place! We’re family! And we’re adults too.”

Forrest nodded encouragingly. Ophelia said nothing, surprisingly, but she leaned towards Nina to indicate her agreement.

Niles already had half an argument crafted in reply, but Leo beat him to the punch.

Leo sighed, exasperated.

“To begin with, you are all still children,” he said. Odin chimed in with something nobody understood, but it sounded somewhat stern. “And secondly, even if you were adults, so are your fathers and I. And we have the right to choose what we wish or do not wish to disclose about our private relationships.”

“Thirdly,” Niles added, “assuming you were eavesdropping on what I think you were, you are mistaking a calm, rational conversation for a fight. That was an adult discussion. Which clearly you three don’t know how to have.”

Forrest and Ophelia’s heads had begun to dip in shame before Niles had even spoken up. Even Nina looked abashed.

Niles stole another look towards Odin, who hadn’t—or rather, couldn’t—speak up for himself. As expected, Odin looked rather disgruntled. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, almost absenting mouthing words to himself. Testing them out on his tongue.

A strangely long beat of silence passed between them. Niles realized everyone was waiting for Odin to chime in and say something, forgetting that he couldn’t.

Leo sighed for the umpteenth time. “Odin, can you understand us, even if we can’t understand you?”

Odin nodded, making an unhappy face. Not necessarily angry, Niles thought. But definitely not happy.

Ophelia quickly said, “Dad! My magical prowess has gotten ahead of myself. There was an unforeseen breach in the magical barrier I previously cast to protect our spirits, and—"

“Ophelia,” Niles said. That was all that needed to be said.

Ophelia deflated. “I mean—I’m sorry.”

Forrest looked equally apologetic. “I’m sorry too. I knew we should have practiced the spell more before trying anything. And I know we should have told you about our intentions before casting it in the first place.”

Leo nodded stiffly. Forrest took that as his cue to continue.

“It was simply… Well, after what Nina told us, I became worried. We all did. Worried that you weren’t being honest with us when we assumed you had been, and so I resorted to something childish. And I’m genuinely sorry about that. We never meant to curse any of you. I promise to do everything I can to help Dad in the meantime.”

It was a good speech. Proper for someone as levelheaded as Forrest. And for his station.

Still, it didn't fix the matter at hand.

“Honesty is a choice,” Niles said. “Not a lever you can switch on and off as you please.”

He assumed that had been their intention with the spell. Forced honesty. “Speaking from the heart,” as it were. They had gotten carried away, clearly.

Forrest nodded, still ashamed but taking it gracefully. “Of course. I’m genuinely sorry.”

“It was my idea anyway,” Ophelia said. “But alas, I was not born a chosen one as our epic fathers were. I must become a scion of legend through hard work, not natural talent. And I will right this wrong as soon as possible.”

Odin said something to reassure her, but the sound of his voice only made Ophelia’s frown deepen. Niles felt much the same.

Odin, realizing his speech was upsetting everyone more than usual, cut himself off and pressed his lips into a thin line. Niles didn’t quite like that either.

“Yeah, well.” Nina frowned and kicked the ground with the scuff of her boot. “I guess I shouldn’t have been listening in when I realized you were talking about something private anyway. It lead to this, so… I’m sorry.”

She fixed Niles and Leo with a look. “But I still want to know what you were talking about last week. How come it’s obvious Father and Papa are from the capital, but we have no idea where Dad is from? Even when we asked, all we got were vague answers!”

Leo pinched the bridge of his nose as Niles thought back to a few apparently not-so-innocuous in hindsight conversations he’d had in the past week. He shuffled through his mind for clues that would have lead up to this.

“Well, that certainly does explain a few things,” Leo muttered.

Ophelia and Forrest weren't letting the subject drop either.

“It’s difficult to admit, but it’s true,” Forrest added. “The three of us discussed it, and Father, you’re a public figure. You’re in the history books, and there’s nothing you’ve particularly hidden from us before. Papa, there are things about your past that you’ve shielded us from before, but we at least know where you’re coming from.” He barreled onward. “But Dad…”

“We don’t know anything,” Nina cut in unhappily. “I did the research. Dad and Aunt Selena and Uncle Laslow all just showed up at court one day. There’s no record of them before that. Do we really not get to know _anything_ about our own father?”

Odin opened and closed his mouth like a fish. He couldn’t seem to decide if he should speak or not. If it was pointless.

Niles reached out and squeezed his hand. Odin didn’t tear his eyes away from the kids, but he made an aborted sound.

“You know what kind of your dad is,” Leo chided. He'd always cared about Odin's past the least. “He raised you, just as we did. That should be more than enough for you. It doesn’t matter where he’s from.”

“Do _you_ even know?” Forrest asked. He sounded almost absent. Genuinely curious and not quite cutting.

It did the job anyway. Niles and Leo took a beat too long to answer.

“ _Seriously_?” Nina snapped.

Ophelia’s mouth dropped into an “o,” identical to Odin’s. It was clear where the resemblance laid. Forrest looked almost ashamed at having asked.

Nina continued, “You don’t even know? First we don’t know what Dad’s saying, and now this? What’s your marriage even based on anyway?”

That was the wrong thing to say, and Nina knew it. She paled instantly, but it was too late. Odin reeled back as though he’d been struck, knocking into Niles’s shoulder.

Leo froze, clearly surprised, and Niles felt himself stiffen as well. The air in the room had turned steely. The kids all looked equally shocked.

Sounding just as sorry as she looked, Nina slumped and said, “That came out wrong. That… wasn’t what I meant to say.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t,” Niles said stiffly. His voice wasn’t cold, but it was a terse.

He knew Nina hadn’t meant for her words to be as hurtful as they sounded.

That didn’t mean they weren’t still hurtful.

All three of the children exchanged looks. Leo was still blinking himself back into the moment, clearly torn about what to say. He had by far been the strictest parent out of the three of them in the past, but now, suddenly, he didn’t seem to know what to do.

Forrest was the first to recover. He gingerly hooked his arms with his sisters.

“I believe we all could do with some air,” he said carefully.

Leo shook his head, finally recovering. “We’ll be speaking to you later. But yes. Just… go for now.”

Forrest nodded, accepting that fact. Ophelia and Nina followed his lead.

He stole them out of the room as quickly as his feet could carry him. There was a wetness to Nina’s eyes and a flush to both Ophelia and Forrest’s cheeks that Niles didn’t miss. He was sure they were feeling just as regretful about the words exchanged here as their parents were.

But they had each other, and Niles knew they’d take care of each other for the moment. Right now it was Niles’s job to take care of Odin and Leo.

The moment the door closed behind them, Odin made a pained sound. His lips were still pressed together tightly.

_What’s your marriage even based on anyway?_

The words stung.

Niles pulled him close and tucked Odin’s head into his shoulder. Odin made an aborted sound. Niles let out a breath as Leo approached.

“She really didn’t mean it,” Niles said when Leo was close enough, because it had to be said. “We can talk to them about it when you can speak again.”

He felt Odin nod against his shoulder.

Leo was likely feeling just as frustrated and hurt, but at least he could be vocal about it. Without looking behind him, Niles practically felt Leo physically pull himself together. Then Leo laid a hand on Odin and Niles’s shoulders.

“Come on,” Leo said gently. “Let’s work on reversing Ophelia’s handiwork.”

Odin nodded quickly, straightening, though looking no happier. In fact, he looked a little worse for wear.

Niles ran his hands down Odin’s arms comfortingly before reaching Odin’s palms and squeezing again. Odin looked grateful for that. He looked doubly grateful—though still quite sad—when Leo kissed his cheek and brushed some of the hair away from his forehead.

“The sooner we can undo the spell, the better,” Leo said. "We'll deal with everything else... later."

It was easier said than done.

* * *

The tome Ophelia had found was old, worn at the edges, and clearly difficult to translate. Not that Niles knew anything about magic spells. But Odin tapped his finger against the table and made all the right noises to indicate that he wasn’t getting anywhere quick. Similarly, Leo furrowed his brow and read the same lines over and over again aloud. Niles could feel himself growing even more restless and tense as they worked.

Over an hour passed before Leo admitted that they weren’t going to be able to solve this one quickly. Odin looked disappointed but not shocked. It had been late afternoon when Ophelia, Forrest, and Nina had called them in for a “surprise,” and by now the sun had begun to dip rather low in the sky. Unless the spell wore off on its own, Odin wasn’t going to regain the ability to communicate with them until tomorrow at the earliest.

“So be it,” Niles said with a sigh. “You two should stay here and continue to work on it then. Or, better yet, go unwind some. No use rushing and making a hasty mistake.”

Mainly he wanted to give Odin and Leo some time to unpack their frustration from earlier. They had bottled it up, but Nina’s words—and Ophelia and Forrest’s as well, though perhaps not as sharply—were almost certainly still gnawing at them. Niles, who’d had the chance to do nothing but consider his options while Odin and Leo toiled over the strange tomb, felt ready to talk to the kids.

“We will fix this,” Leo hastily added. But either sensing Niles’s intentions or acting on his own, he said, “But Niles is right. Let’s at least take this to the bedroom where it’s more comfortable. In the meanwhile, are you going to talk to the children?”

The last part was directed at Niles. He nodded.

“I had planned on it.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” Leo asked.

“If you want,” Niles said. They were all their fathers, after all. “But I think I know what I’m going to say.”

Leo looked at Odin and, trusting that Niles had it covered, nodded again. “I understand. Odin?”

Niles prepared himself to decipher an answer in a foreign language, but Odin shook his head glumly instead, choosing not to speak.

Odin was certainly able to talk; he was just choosing not to, presumably because nobody could understand him. It must have been a lonesome feeling, Niles thought.

As Odin turned to tuck the tome under his arm, Niles caught Leo's eye and gestured towards him, trying to convey something he couldn't say. Leo nodded. Niles couldn't clarify what he wanted to suggest, but after years of marriage and fatherhood, he trusted Leo to handle Odin now the same way they were trusting him to handle the kids.

“I’ll be off then,” Niles said, holding the door open as Odin and Leo walked out. “Hopefully we can get this at least partly under control before dinner.”

Considering what a mess this had all been, Niles thought it could go either way.

* * *

After finding Forrest alone and after the second round of apologies—and another reminder that Forrest should apologize to Odin, not Niles—Forrest said, “I was scared.”

Niles listened. Forrest held his chin up high despite the heavy words.

“I suppose I hadn’t ever thought about it before,” he continued.

“Thought about what, specifically?” Niles asked for clarity’s sake. He was pretty sure he knew what Forrest was talking about, but better safe than sorry.

Sure enough, Forrest’s answer didn’t surprise him.

“The realization that perhaps I did not know my own father as well as I thought I did.” Forrest closed his eyes briefly before continuing. “Like I said earlier, Father’s history has always been rather clear cut. And you, Papa… Even when you have chosen not to share every detail about your life before Father, I still understand. I know why you choose not to talk about your life before very often.”

Niles nodded. He carefully said, “And you do not think your dad had shared anything of himself with you?”

“Not at all!” Forrest’s eyes widened. “No, make no mistake. Dad has shared so much of himself with us, just as you all have. It is only that…”

He trailed off. Niles waited patiently for Forrest to gather himself again.

Forrest breathed in. “It is only that I did not realize I knew so _little_ about where Dad had come from until Nina brought it up. When I thought back on all the stories you all had ever told us, I realized Dad’s involvement in them only ever began _after_ he arrived in Nohr and became Father’s retainer. But I know he’s not from Nohr. It simply never occurred to me until now that I didn’t know any more than that.”

He sounded regretful. Niles nodded again.

“And that bothered you,” he said.

Forrest’s involvement in this scheme was not so surprising after all. He acted more maturely than his age most of the time, but he was still only sixteen. He was still growing up as much as his sisters were.

“It scared me,” Forrest corrected. He wrung the handkerchief between his fingers again before tucking it away. “I asked around, as did Ophelia and Nina. We even asked you three about it. But we were given no clear answers.”

Niles thought back to the past week. It had been a busy one. He couldn’t remember any of the kids approaching him about Odin’s past. It had probably been a casual, passing comment that Niles had brushed off or hadn’t fully registered at the time. He wished he'd paid more attention, even if he had been busy. Not that Niles would have had any answers for the kids anyway. But at least he would have been more prepared for what was to come.

“The idea that I didn’t know my own father…” Forrest shook his head. “I was hasty. We all were. And I’m still very sorry. I know Dad just as well as I know you and Father. That’s all I truly _need_ to know.” His frown was gentle but present. “But I’d still like to know more, if I can.”

“That’s for your dad to decide,” Niles said truthfully. “A man’s past is his own and no one else’s.”

And that had been a hard pill to swallow for Niles once upon a time, newly faced with the knowledge he would never get the truth about Odin unless the man shared it himself. But that was a story for another day, and long since dealt with besides.

“However,” he continued, “I’m sure Odin can come to a compromise. Especially since it means so much to you kids.”

Forrests’s subdued expression disappeared as a bright smile lit up his face. He clapped his hands together in front of his chest.

“Truly?” he asked, clearly elated.

“You’ll have to ask him yourself,” Niles repeated. “But perhaps.”

For a moment that seemed to be the end of things. Then Forrest’s smile stuttered and his mouth drooped once more.

“Dad,” Forrest began. “Is he…”

Niles tilted his head in acknowledgement.

“He’s still the same,” he said, much to Forrest’s visible disappointment. “But I’m sure he’ll be back to his old self soon enough. It’s only a matter of time. He and your father are working on a remedy as we speak.”

Forrest nodded.

“I thought as much. You’ll tell them I offered to help, won’t you?” he asked. “I know I offered before, but…”

He had trailed off several times during their conversation already. Niles had never known Forrest to leave a statement unfinished. He examined his son.

Then, rather than reply aloud, Niles opened his arms invitingly.

Forrest’s breath caught. He threw himself against Niles’s chest, and Niles wrapped his arms around his son in return. The brim of Forrest’s hat knocked against Niles’s shoulder as they hugged.

“Of course I’ll tell them,” Niles said. “Though you may visit if you’d rather tell them yourself. It’s not as though your dad is in quarantine.”

“I know,” Forrest said, finally leaning away. Niles’s hands still rested on his shoulders. He breathed in a bit more evenly, though when he blinked his eyes were bright. He clearly still felt guilty, despite the apologies. “I’m sorry for getting so teary all of a sudden. I suppose I didn’t realize how worked up I was feeling.”

Despite the shininess to his eyes, Forrest smiled when he spoke. Niles squeezed his shoulders, smiling gently at him. Forrest had grown tall before he’d even realized it.

“It’s alright,” he said. “Happens to the best of us.”

Forrest adjusted his hat as Niles dropped his hands.

“And if anything changes, you’ll let me know, right?”

His face was open and earnest. Niles could not have asked for a better son.

“Of course,” Niles said. “You’ll be the first to know.”

The first alongside the girls, of course. But Forrest knew that, and he nodded gratefully again, looking as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

* * *

“Papa!” Ophelia jumped to attention when Niles found her. “My mind has been drenched within the murky realm of fortunes all afternoon! But alas! It appears my aura is too clouded today to make heads or tails of it yet. Is Dad...”

She didn’t finish.

“Your fathers are working on it,” Niles said comfortingly.

Ophelia’s face fell, and her shoulders slumped. Forrest had clearly been distraught, but Ophelia wore her emotions even more on her sleeve. “I see.”

Niles leaned against the wall, arms crossed. Ophelia shifted her weight uncomfortably like she knew what was coming next.

“Would you mind telling me what this was all about now?” he asked.

Ophelia turned a yellow stone over in her hand. Niles recognized it as one of the gems that Ophelia claimed helped her tell the future. He watched her fumble with it until she was ready to speak.

“You are all chosen ones,” Ophelia eventually said.

Niles raised his eyebrows, unsure of what this had to do with the matter at hand. But he let her continue.

Ophelia said, “You, Father, and Dad—all of you. You are incredible, and I yearn to follow in your footsteps one day!”

For a moment she almost looked like her normal self. She raised her head to look Niles in the eye, and he nodded along with her.

“And you will be,” he said, knowing there wasn’t much he could say about the “chosen one” part of her speech that he hadn’t already discussed with her already. It was better to go along with it at this point. “When you’re older.”

“I know.” Ophelia’s eyes were downcast again. “I know I must wait for my time. Nina already follows in your footsteps, Papa. Even though you don’t like it, she is cast in your image. And what a glorious image it is! An antihero shrouded in darkness, walking the gray path of dawn!”

There was a lot to be said there, so Niles said nothing. He watched Ophelia carefully and waited to see where she was going with this.

“Forrest as well. As first born, he was chosen from birth to inherit Father’s place! He is naturally a chosen one. But that is alright, because I know I shall follow in Dad’s footsteps, rounding out my sibling's future destinies! Except…”

Ophelia stopped playing with the stone in her hand and held it tight in her hand. Her eyes swept the floor until she raised her head again.

“Dad’s path is a bit… murkier.”

“Murkier,” Niles repeated. He wasn’t quite sure what she meant.

Ophelia nodded at the echo, seemingly encouraged. “Yes. Dad praises me so often that I feel I must be doing something right, even when I do not always feel it. And you and Father say we are so alike as well. But sometimes I am not sure. Sometimes, I…”

Niles uncrossed his arms and leaned in closer to Ophelia, placing a hand on her shoulder. “It’s alright. Go on.”

His youngest daughter closed her mouth tightly before finding the strength to speak again.

“Sometimes,” she said, “I am worried. Perhaps we are not as alike as you say. Perhaps I will not live up to his legacy the same way Nina and Forrest will so clearly live up to yours.”

“Oh, Ophelia,” Niles breathed sadly. “You shouldn’t worry about anything like that at all. You are doing just fine. You can forge your own path in this world, you know. Not everything you do must be like us.”

Ophelia nodded quickly. “But I want to! I want to live up to you! And so I thought that if I just knew where Dad came from—if I knew his origin story, then I might…”

“Ah,” Niles said. It was coming together now. “So that’s why you wanted him to ‘speak from the heart.’”

She hung her head shamefully, her long hair falling in front of her eyes. It brushed Niles’s wrist.

“Yes,” Ophelia admitted, voice heavy. “I know my fear is quite unbecoming of a chosen one.”

Niles sighed, squeezing her shoulder again before dropping his hand. “It’s not how you feel that’s the problem, Ophelia. Fear is entirely natural. Even your fathers become worried from time to time. It is the way you went about this that is the issue.”

Though it seemed impossible, Ophelia slumped even further.

“I understand,” she said, looking quite miserable. “And I am truly sorry.”

Niles reached out and ruffled her hair. She didn’t bat his hand away out of fear for their hairstyles the way Nina and Forrest often did.

“In the future, if you’re worried, come talk to your fathers,” he told her. “I promise we can work through these things together. I’m sure Odin would have had a thing or two to say if he’d known you were feeling this way from the start.”

Ophelia nodded again, biting her lip. Niles lifted her chin.

“Chin up,” he said gently. “Your dad will be back to normal before you know it, and then he’ll be telling you all this himself. A little spell like that can’t keep him down.”

Ophelia sniffed but—miraculously—didn’t burst into tears. She did swallow quite hard, however.

“Of course!” she boasted with a strength she probably didn’t feel. “Dad is among the heartiest of heroes! I would not be surprised if he shrugged off that curse while we were speaking just now!”

Niles wasn’t sure about that, but he wasn’t going to disagree with her. He hummed noncommittally.

“Sure,” he said. “And even if it takes some time, fret not. Like I told Forrest, when the spell wears off, the three of you will be the first to know.”

Ophelia balled her hands into fists, looking determined.

“Can I help?” she asked.

Niles considered it. Ophelia was still in training, but she had been the one to cast the spell in the first place. Leo and Odin probably still had the tome, however, and Niles wasn’t sure if they were up to working on it again just yet if they had taken a break.

“We can ask your fathers later,” he told her. “I think everyone is feeling a little worn out. But if you rest up tonight and it’s not solved by tomorrow, I’m sure you’ll be able to help then.”

Those words probably weren’t the ones Ophelia wanted to hear, but she didn’t let it show much. She nodded again, invigorated and already seeming lost in thought. Niles was still a little worn out from the confrontation earlier, but he smiled a little watching her now. There was more to be said here—another conversation to be had about proper safety precautions when it came to magic and informing your test subjects on what you intended to do—but Niles thought Odin and Leo could handle that just fine. He was finished for the moment.

Two children down, one more to go.

* * *

Nina didn’t protest when Niles came knocking on her door. She didn’t shove Niles out like she usually tried to do when he popped in for a surprise visit, but she didn’t look very pleased that he was there either. Whether that was because it was Niles who had come knocking or because of her guilt from earlier was unclear, however. Nina’s face was withdrawn and impossible to read.

“Come on,” Niles said when it became clear Nina wasn’t going to make the first move. She held herself awkwardly, a sour twist to her lips. “Let’s sit down for this one.”

Nina shuffled over to the end of her bed and gingerly sat on its edge. Niles followed her lead, choosing to put a little bit of space between them. Not so far away that Niles couldn’t reach out and hold her if need be, but not so close that Nina would feel boxed in either.

Forrest and Ophelia had been the ones to kick off the conversation and explanations before. Niles waited.

When a minute passed and Nina said nothing, Niles decided to mix things up a bit and take the lead.

He said, “I’m sure you’re aware of this already, but there was a time when I was decidedly _not_ okay with your dad keeping secrets.”

Nina’s head shot up. Her wide-eyed surprise made Niles bark out a laugh.

“Why the face?” he asked, smiling crookedly. “Did you really think it was all hearts and roses from the start?”

Nina wrinkled her nose, thinking. “I mean, I guess not.”

Niles shook his head.

“No,” he said. “This was before any of us were together, of course. Back when I was your father’s only retainer and your dad was the new guy on the block who had suddenly popped out of nowhere. Your father and I both hated him at first, truth be told.”

“Wait, really?”

Nina was staring. Niles looked back.

“Have I really never told you this before?” he asked.

Nina scuffed her shoe along the floor. “Maybe? This sounds kind of familiar, but not really.”

“I’ll assume I haven’t then,” Niles said. He thought the subject must have come up at some point, but perhaps not in this much detail. It was one thing to tell your children that their parents met through work. It was another to admit they basically hated each other at first.

He continued. “Like I said, your father and I both hated your dad when we met. Here was a stranger who had come out of nowhere and had suddenly become your father’s new retainer. He spoke like a jester. Looked like one too.”

Nina snorted in laughter and then suddenly slapped her hand over her mouth, looking guilty.

“It’s alright. You can laugh.” Niles glanced toward her out of the corner of his eye, then purposely looked at the wall instead. In his periphery, Nina slowly unraveled. “It was true, after all. It’s still true now.

“Where was I? Oh, yes. He looked and sounded like a buffoon, and neither of us wanted him here. So your father gave him all of the strangest, most dangerous missions he could think of. He was hoping to scare your dad away forever. But instead of running away, your dad accomplished every one without breaking a sweat. And then he’d come back asking for more.”

Nina was watching him curiously now. Niles pretended not to notice.

“Eventually your father grew to quite like your dad. But me? I only grew to resent him more. Here was a man who I felt was trying to take my place as your father’s one and only retainer. And to top it all off, I went and did some investigating myself. And just like you, I found absolutely nothing on your dad. No history, no family, no footprints in this world. He was an absolute mystery to me.”

It wasn’t a surprise that Nina had gone looking into Odin’s past. She and Niles were a lot alike. She was like Leo and Odin in a lot of ways too; ways Nina probably didn’t even think about most of the time. But she most certainly got her curiosity and tendency to spy from Niles, even if she didn’t always use it in ways Niles approved of.

“When I confronted him about it, we fought, which we usually didn’t do outright.”

“So then what?” Nina asked, giving into her curiosity and forgetting her stiffness. “He told you and it was all better after that?”

“No,” Niles corrected. “He apologized for getting angry with me for being naturally worried about who he was and promised that he was not there to hurt anyone. But he never said a word about his past.”

“What?” Nina’s jaw dropped. “So then it’s true? You and Father really don’t know?”

She had obviously been hoping otherwise.

“Not a thing,” Niles said sweetly.

Nina’s mouth opened and closed. Niles waited.

Eventually, she said, “But then—Why is it okay? Why’d you just _accept_ that?”

“Because at that point I had grown to know what type of person your dad is,” Niles answered. “And I knew he could be trusted. I trusted him with both my and your father’s lives, in fact. I knew this was a topic he would not budge on until he was ready, and so I moved on.”

Nina digested this for a moment.

“And then?” she asked, sounding a little hesitant. Sounding like there was a different question she couldn’t quite articulate but wanted to ask anyway.

“And he has never betrayed that trust,” Niles answered. “Odin has never let me down. Not once. Nor Leo.”

That made Nina go pensive and quiet. When her head rose again, she looked appreciative.

“So I get it. I do.” Niles gave her a sidelong glance. Their shoulders didn’t brush. But he would be there when Nina needed something to lean on. “I understand why you’re upset. Gods know I’ve done much worse things at half your age. It’s a good thing you have fathers with whom you can get into fights with. I’ve been told it comes with the territory of fatherhood. So don’t stress about this. You’re already forgiven.”

Nina’s breath hitched.

“Just this time?” she asked.

“Every time,” Niles said confidently. “You’re our daughter, Nina. We love you no matter what. We want to be sure you know that, even if the feeling isn’t always returned.”

Nina jumped at that, looking scared and startled. “But I do—”

“I know,” Niles said. “I’m just saying. Even if you didn’t, that wouldn’t change the fact I’m your father. Nor would it change anything for your other fathers either. And you can still love us and be mad at us simultaneously. These things aren’t mutually exclusive.”

He scoffed, remembering. “There are plenty of times I thought I was going to kill Odin out of pure frustration. Especially before I got to really know him. And your father didn’t like being smothered ten years ago any more than he does now. So trust me. Not mutually exclusive.”

Nina giggled at that, the tension draining out of her.

“So,” Niles said, leaning back on his hands and smiling slightly. “I don’t want to presume anything. Why’d _you_ do it?”

Nina snorted, leaning on her bedpost. “I’m sure Forrest and Ophelia already told you what happened.”

“Yes, but I want to hear your side of it.”

Nina frowned again, but not as deeply as before. She looked away.

“You basically already know,” she said. “It’s the same thing. I… I didn’t like that Dad was keeping secrets. And I didn’t even realize he was before. So I guess I got spooked. And I ran to Forrest and Ophelia without really thinking, and then…”

“And then things got out of hand,” Niles finished.

Nina chewed on her lower lip. “I’m sorry. What I said before… I really didn’t mean it.”

_What’s your marriage even based on anyway?_

Her words echoed in Niles’s head. They still stung. But it had been a valid question—especially to Nina, who had been reeling with shock at the revelation that she didn't know one of her parents as well as she'd thought she had. Just as Forrest and Ophelia had been.

Certainty, it had been a hurtful question. But she hadn’t meant it the way it had come out. Niles knew that.

When Niles didn’t say anything immediately, too lost in thought, Nina nervously look up at him and said, “You know… What I said about your marriage—”

“I know.” Niles cut her off. He regretted his haste when Nina withdrew again. He was more careful in his next words. “I know you didn’t mean it. It was hurtful, but you apologized. That’s what matters. Your father and Dad know that too.”

“Still.” Nina chewed on her cheek this time. “I’ll apologize to them too.”

“As you should,” Niles said. As he expected Forrest and Ophelia to do again as well. “But remember: we are your fathers. And we love you no matter what.”

Nina nodded. She breathed out through her nose. “Yeah. Thank you.”

She sat up a little straighter, flexing her fingers.

“That conversation you overheard,” Niles said, making Nina fall silent again. “I know it scared you. It can be scary when you learn something new. But I promise you nothing strange is happening anytime soon. Your father, Dad, and I really were just having a discussion. And we’ll continue that discussion sometime soon. So as your fathers, trust us to handle adult discussions the adult way, alright? And we’ll always let you know if something important comes up.”

“Okay,” Nina said after another beat had passed, sounding as if she’d come to an decision. She didn’t quite smile at Niles, but she didn’t look as hardened as she had before either. “I appreciate it.”

They rose.

He and Nina had always had a bit of friction between them—likely because they were so similar, Niles thought. They’d certainly had fights before. But Niles felt as though something had shifted between them in this moment, and it was a feeling he cherished.

When he reached around Nina for a one-armed hug, she didn’t push him away. After a moment, she even hugged him back, tilting her head onto her shoulders.

“Dinner will be ready soon,” he said. It was getting late. “Why don’t I go grab your fathers, and then we can all eat together?”

Nina’s stomach growled in answer.

She flushed. Niles laughed.

* * *

When Niles entered the bedroom, he found Leo and Odin laying together across the bedspread. Odin was chattering away, still speaking in the language Niles couldn’t identify. Leo’s face was angled towards Odin’s, away from the door, but he turned when he heard Niles walk in. He patted the space next to him.

“Odin was just telling me about a few things,” Leo said.

Odin was laying on his side, and while he’d looked quite downcast earlier, he appeared quite pleased to see Niles now. Niles wondered if he and Leo had talked about something while Niles had been out with the kids. He’d ask about it later.

“No reversal yet then?” Niles asked, settling down beside Leo.

Odin said a word nobody understood.

“Tomorrow,” Leo clarified. “We’ll work on reversing the spell again tomorrow. Though for all we know, it may wear off on its own first. How are the children?”

“Getting better,” Niles said. He sank into the bed and angled himself towards Odin. “I can tell you both about it when Odin is finished though.”

Odin sighed contentedly in Leo’s ear.

Yes, Niles thought again. Odin looked much better than he had earlier. Maybe it was the fact he actually got the chance to speak now. They still couldn’t understand him, sure, but that was no reason he had to swallow all his words and lock them up inside anyway. Leo and Niles could make the effort to listen, if nothing else.

Niles had spent so long talking with the children that afternoon. He couldn’t imagine how frustrating it must have felt not to feel heard.

Leo smiled. “That sounds good. Are we eating dinner together?”

It was an indirect question about how Niles’s conversations with Forrest, Nina, and Ophelia had gone. Niles would fill them in more later.

“I think Nina is still getting cleaned up, but yes,” Niles said. “I told her to find Forrest and Ophelia, and then we’d find them when we were ready.”

“Understood.” Leo looked at Odin fondly. “You were saying?”

Odin spoke.

**Author's Note:**

> There was originally more of a conversation between Leo and Odin at the end there, but this was so Niles-focused that I didn't want to switch POVs suddenly for the last scene. But Leo did comfort Odin some for sure! The specifics are just off-screen.:D
> 
> Odin is most likely speaking Ylissean as his first language. But it can be another language if you hc otherwise.
> 
> When talking to the kids, Niles refers to Odin and Leo as "your dad" or "your father" based on the fact my mom still does this. Sometimes she even says "Dad is doing..." when talking to me despite the fact that I am now 22 and this is not necessarily. I know my dad's name. My dad just says my mom's name when talking about her to me in return, lol. So I figure maybe all parents have a slightly different ways of doing it, even to their teenage kids.
> 
> The exact conversation Nina overheard doesn't really matter. It's more about the shock of children realizing their parents are complex individuals who have their own secrets they don't know about and how sometimes that can be scary. And mostly about Niles being a good dad, because he is, and I really wanted some good Niles content lately.
> 
> Feel free to leave a comment below or hit me up on my [tumblr!](http://someobscurereference.tumblr.com/) I get a lot of FE14 meta and fic related asks there, so feel free to browse through my "asks" or "fe14" tag for some extra stuff from me and your fellow readers that you may not see over here. Or send in a question of your own if you had one! Thanks for reading!


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